Legal Question in Employment Law in Virginia

Last year, I was an independent contractor (1099), who provided consulting services to a private company (Comp A). All my billing and HR related matters were coordinated through a third party vendor (Comp B). I was paid on a weekly basis by Comp B, after my manager from Comp A approved my submitted time sheet.
The final two months of the contract, I was locked out of Comp A's systems and was unable to perform any work. This error was IT related and not due to a disciplinary action. I notified Comp B immediately and was told by an account manager to keep trying to rectify the process, remain available during business hours, and submit my time since my contract was still valid in Comp B's financial system. The account manager sent me an email that Comp B's HR approved this action until further notice. Nothing got resolved for eight weeks and my contract ran out without further renewal. Since then, I moved on to work for another company.
Two weeks ago, I was notified by an account manager at Comp B that eight weeks of my time sheets were not approved by Comp A. I asked about my wages, since I was already compensated by Comp B, and was told that since the error was not mine and that this was not a performance based issue, that Comp B would not do anything about it. Comp B would eat the loss and we would go our separate ways. The conversation was very cordial and seemed like the last time I would have to speak with Comp B.
Last week, Comp B contacted me again, this time by Senior Management, to inquire about the submitted time sheets. I explained my situation as described above but got the impression that Comp B may contemplate with recouping its lost wages, which total over $20,000. We have a tentative call set-up for next week to discuss this matter further.
Since I no longer have a valid contract with Comp B, do I have to speak with anyone from Comp B? Could Comp B take me to court if I refused to answer? If Comp B tried to recoup my wages, does it have a valid case?

Asked on 2/12/11, 7:57 pm

Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

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0 attorneys agreed

1. No.

2. Yes, a case can be filed for almost anything which in no way implies that it has merit.

3. Under the facts described, particularly, the company''s own admission

that the error was not yours and that "they would eat the loss", I would say

that they do not.

Answered on 6/09/11, 6:46 am

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